


and when the morning comes

by WhiteRose_Is_My_Life



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Discussions of Arranged Marriages, F/F, Smoking, a lot of swearing bc thats half of kori's vocabulary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-17 21:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21850300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteRose_Is_My_Life/pseuds/WhiteRose_Is_My_Life
Summary: Isabella seeks refuge, Kori seeks sanity. It's something of a symbiotic relationship.
Relationships: Korinna Proelia/Isabella Murray





	and when the morning comes

**Author's Note:**

> me, writing my ocs to get out of a rut? u bet ur ass  
> my twitter is @wrcassnessa

“Must you really?” Isabella asked, her eyes directed at the cigarette currently burning between Kori’s lips. Despite the wind not blowing, it was still late winter and the air was chilly enough to make her lips feel raw and her eyes water just slightly. 

She’d sat down on Kori’s balcony so she could pull her legs to her and feel warmer, the suit she was wearing having hardly done much against the heat. Conversely, Kori was standing and leaning on the railing in only sweatpants and a tank top.

Kori’s hair was down for the first time since they’d met, and despite it not being terribly long, Isabella really hadn’t been used to seeing it not tied back into a ponytail. She looked better with it down, though, Isabella was sure of that. 

Perhaps she’d been looking at her too much. Isabella averted her gaze from Kori’s lips, instead staring out into the blank night. Idly she noticed there weren’t many stars out. 

“You’re the one who wanted to come here. You’re really gonna tell me what to do in my house, Bells?” 

Isabella glared. “I thought I told you not to call me that.”

“Oh, you definitely have.” Kori flashed a grin at the other woman, exhaling smoke into the cold air. Isabella watched it float away and dissipate. She sighed. 

“Why do you do that, anyway?” 

“What, call you Bells? Because you hate it, mostly.” 

“Thanks, idiot,  _ I know that _ . I meant smoking.” Kori removed the offending item from her mouth, turned to look at Isabella and gave her a shrug. 

“Everybody’s got a vice. Mine just happens to be cigarettes.”

“And you don’t care that it’s killing you?” There was something unreadable in Kori’s eyes as she stared for several more seconds at Isabella, as if evaluating her. 

“Counting on it, actually.” She responded slowly, as if to gauge Isabella’s reaction. 

“Excuse me?” Isabella narrowed her gaze. Kori didn’t return it. 

“I’m killing myself at a pace I’m comfortable with. A lot less painful this way, too.” 

Isabella didn’t respond. Or, rather, it would be more apt to say she didn’t have a response. She could hardly chide Kori for wanting to be rid of her life when the entire reason she’d even come over was to get away from her own. 

It made sense that Kori wasn’t particularly attached to living. Aside from Elise, she didn’t really have anyone or anything in her life. She lived in a cheap apartment that she only paid for by working at a gas station and by collecting checks from a roommate that was scarcely there anyway. 

Isabella had seen inside Elise’s dresser, there were only a few articles of clothing scattered about and it had only confirmed that Elise probably lived elsewhere and only came to visit. Kori’d never mentioned it, but she wasn’t stupid and she probably knew as well. 

“I understand.” Isabella settled on saying. 

“You don’t understand  _ shit _ , rich girl.” Kori hadn’t managed to keep the bitterness and resentment out of her tone. Isabella glared, indignant. 

“Do you think I enjoy this shit, Korinna-” 

“ _ I told you to never fucking call me that! _ ” Kori roared, turning to look down at Isabella, finally. 

“Fuck you. I was trying to give you comfort in a kindred spirit-“

“If there’s any such spirit here, feel free to introduce us-“

“People have no expectations of you, Proelia. The only burdens you bear are making rent each month and getting out of bed on time to show up punctually to your shitty job. I am the heiress of a major corporation-“

Kori snorted. “Yeah, a corporation you wasted no time running away from. And where’d you run, motherfucker? Directly to me, because you know I’m the only one willing to put up with your  _ shitty  _ attitude.” 

“Okay, pot. Call the kettle blacker, why don’t you?”

“Elise-“ 

“Doesn’t even live here, Proelia. Don’t be idiotic.” 

Kori sucked in a huge breath, presumably ready to spit more venom at her, but instead she just exhaled and turned away to light another cigarette. 

“Of all the people in the world, I get stuck with babysitting Isabella fucking Murray.” Kori whispered, talking mostly to herself than Isabella. She took a long drag of her cigarette, exhaling the smoke downwind and away from both of them. Kori turned to Isabella. 

“I hate you so much. If you ever compare us again, I’ll kick you out on your ass. And you will die. In the cold. All alone.” 

“You say that, but you’d rather die than have me go home to Ja-“

“ _ Don’t say his fucking name. _ ” Kori ground out, jaw clenched and knuckles white. “Why the hell can’t you just say no?” 

Isabella glared. “You don’t think I would have if I could have? Arranged marriages are called that because they’re arranged by someone  _ else _ . I could tell me father no, but that would do fuck-all.” 

“I thought we stopped doing arranged marriages, as, like, a country.” 

“Not entirely. Especially in the richer demographic, people get married to continue a family name, or extend the longevity of any given corporation. In this case-”

“Murray Clothing Co.” 

“Exactly.”

Silence descended in the absence of Kori having anything to say. She stomped out on cigarette, lit another. Isabella grimaced. 

She wasn’t sure how much time passed, just that she’d started to shiver and Kori had ashed her third cigarette for the last time, tossing the butt into the ashtray. 

“Are you staying tonight?” Kori asked, and Isabella knew it was because she was gonna kick her out if she said no. Isabella couldn’t blame her, it was quite late.

“Do you wish for me to?” It was a simple question, betrayed only by the want latent in her voice. Kori stared at her, making full eye contact for several long beats. 

“Yeah,” She responded, quietly. “But don’t steal all my fucking covers again.” 

“I couldn’t if I tried, what with how you’re always as close to me as you can get.” 

“Hey, fuck off. You’re warm, and my ac doesn’t work for shit in winter.” 

Isabella smiled, her first genuine smile in a while. “Come on, Proelia. I’m tired.” 

Kori slid an arm across the heiress’ waist, resting there comfortably as they walked back into her apartment. “Will you be here when I wake up?” Kori asked. 

Isabella didn’t answer. In fact, she abstained from saying anything at all until such time as Kori was cuddled into her chest and rapidly losing consciousness. 

“Goodnight.” Isabella whispered, far more reverent than she was prone to being. 

Isabella was gone when Kori woke up. Kori wasn’t surprised. She never really had been. 

**Author's Note:**

> sad


End file.
